Secrets at Home
by SamCyberCat
Summary: Ryo thought he’d found a home in Duel Academia, but there was a lot that Duel Academia wanted to hide from him. Ryo/Fubuki.


Notes – For the gx_100. Set pre-GX, soon after Asuka had enrolled.

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As a rule Ryo didn't have a singular place that he referred to as home in the past. Mostly because he didn't have the emotional attachment to bother with the concept. And partly because nothing ever seemed quite right for him.

Certainly he'd had a house that he'd lived in as a child, but he didn't really think much about it in the sense of a home. He had been quite young when he'd gone to train at the Cyber Dojo and often stayed away from the house where his family lived for long periods of time. Even before that his relationship with his brother Shou had been awkward and he didn't see that changing anytime soon.

At the same time the dojo didn't feel like home either. He was there to study the Cyber Style, and he knew it wouldn't be permanent. It would only be a matter of time before he was separated from that place, though apparently not from Samejima.

For Ryo went on to become a pupil at Duel Academia, a school that Samejima was in charge of. It was here that for the first time Ryo started to consider that he may have found a home.

He loved the academia, he loved studying there and he loved the people there. It felt refreshing being surrounded by so many people who enjoyed duelling but used different decks beside the Cyber Style. The variety there made it entertaining.

The one person who provided the most entertainment for him was Fubuki, a boy who fast became Ryo's best friend despite the two of them being almost polar opposites. Fubuki made a house a home. He did a lot of things that Ryo disagreed with but something about that just made him more attractive as a person.

However, it seemed that there were secrets held in the place that Ryo called home that he did not know about. The students may not have been as safe there as they thought they were when they applied.

Rumours had always spread around quietly, but nothing could calm the whispers when a whole selection of students disappeared without a trace. A previously much used dorm was shut off and quickly fell to ruin, with students being forbidden to go there. And those who didn't disappear were silenced. If the media found out about these disappearances than it would drastically affect the future of Duel Academia. As most of the students valued their education there they took to only talking about the event with each other, and eventually it died down altogether.

But not for Ryo.

One of the students who were taken away was Fubuki, and there was nothing that could make him forget this. He couldn't accept that he had to go on not knowing where Fubuki was or even if he was still alive. Whether or not the staff knew what had happened it made sense that someone knew - someone who would not talk.

He didn't feel he could trust as many people now. He felt wary as the days went on, and without Fubuki to cheerfully wash away his worries he fell back to his old habits of being disconnected from those around him.

Duel Academia was no longer a home to Ryo.

Until the return of Fubuki, if that happened, it would solely be a place of study for him. And he was certain that nothing could change his mind in that regard.

It seemed though, that fortune had a single favour it wanted to show to Ryo before he set his course completely.

He entered his third year, and a new group of first year students arrived. Despite everything else Ryo was a person who saw the future duellists as being important, and he liked to see the new students as they enrolled. In that first year he found his hope.

A girl. A girl who not only showed promise in the game of Duel Monsters but also showed a lot of determination in another field. For the first time in a long while someone was asking questions about the missing students from that event. She seemed truly set on finding out what had happened.

This intrigued Ryo, because the students had been told not to discuss the subject and she clearly couldn't have been there at the time that it had happened. How did she know? Why did she want to know more?

He approached her, and may have been rash about asking her those questions. However she didn't take offence at his nature. If anything she seemed happy that someone was showing an interest in her search.

"I'm looking because one of the students was my brother and very dear to me," she answered him, "His name was Fubuki Tenjoin. I want to find him somehow."

Ryo couldn't stop himself from smiling at that.

"You may have found the right person then," he told her, "Fubuki was my closest friend, and I will do anything in my power to aid you in your search for him."

And so a friendship from common goals was formed between Ryo and the girl called Asuka. They both found someone who understood them and had the same aim in discovering the hidden truth.

Because of her, for the second time, Ryo viewed Duel Academia as his home.


End file.
